The Simon Commission and the Nehru Report are significant chapters in India’s struggle for self-governance during the period of British colonial rule. The Simon Commission, appointed in 1927, was tasked with examining and making recommendations for further constitutional reforms in British India. However, it sparked widespread protests and boycotts in India due to its composition of all-British members, with no Indian representation. In response to the Simon Commission, the Indian National Congress convened the All Parties Conference in 1928, which appointed a committee led by Motilal Nehru to draft a constitution for India. The result was the Nehru Report, presented in 1928, which proposed significant constitutional reforms, including dominion status for India within the British Empire. This introduction sets the stage for an exploration of the events surrounding the Simon Commission and the Nehru Report, highlighting their implications for India’s nationalist movement and the trajectory of its struggle for independence.
Background
The Nehru Report was a document submitted on August 15, 1928 (approved on August 28), asking for India to have a new dominion status and a federal government system in its constitution. It also suggested having Joint Electorates with some seats reserved for minorities in the legislatures. The report was put together by a committee from the All Parties Conference, led by Motilal Nehru, with his son Jawaharlal Nehru helping as secretary.
Why Nehru Report?
- When the Simon Commission came to India in 1928, many Indians, especially those in the Congress Party, were upset because there were no Indians on the Commission.
- Lord Birkenhead, the Secretary of State for India, then challenged Indian leaders to create a constitution for India, suggesting that Indians couldn’t agree on one themselves.
- Indian political leaders accepted this challenge and called for an All Party Conference to draft a constitution.
- Motilal Nehru led this committee, with Jawaharlal Nehru serving as secretary. Other members included Ali Imam, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mangal Singh, M S Aney, Subhas Chandra Bose, Shuaib Qureshi, and G R Pradhan.
- The draft constitution created by this committee became known as the Nehru Committee Report or Nehru Report.
- On August 28, 1928, the report was presented at the Lucknow session of the all-party conference.
- This was the first major attempt by Indians to create their own constitution.
Recommendations
- India should have dominion status with a parliamentary government and a two-part legislature: a Senate with 200 members serving seven-year terms, and a House of Representatives with 500 members serving five-year terms.
- The Governor-General will make decisions based on recommendations from the Executive Council, which will be accountable to the legislature.
- India should have a federal system of government, with residual powers held by the central government.
- Separate electorates for minorities should be abolished in favor of a joint electorate to prevent communal tensions.
- Punjabi and Bengali communities won’t have reserved seats, but Muslim seats may be reserved in provinces where Muslims make up at least 10% of the population.
- The judiciary and executive branches should be separate.
- Muslims should have representation proportional to one-quarter of the population at the central level.
- Sind may be separated from Bombay if it can show financial independence.
Results
- The Nehru Report made Bengal’s Muslim political groups very angry because they thought it threatened Hindu control.
- Muslims in Bengal had been pushing for separate electorates, and they felt betrayed when this idea was suddenly rejected.
- They argued that since they were the majority in the province, they should have the majority in the legislature, and separate electorates were needed to protect Hindus from being taken advantage of economically and educationally.
- Hindus disagreed with these demands and said they deserved their majority in the legislature, despite being a minority in the population, because of their past contributions and current abilities.
The British planned to announce more changes to India’s laws in 1929–30. To prepare, they formed the ‘Simon Commission,’ which upset Indians because it only had white members. The Congress Party decided to boycott the commission at its meeting in Madras in 1927. This decision was supported by the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha. Instead of participating in the commission, a series of meetings were held to come up with a different plan. The Motilal Nehru Report was the result of many parties agreeing to challenge British rule in India. However, there was disagreement about communal representation at a meeting in Calcutta in December 1928.
Also Read: Simon Commission.